


I Spy With My Little Eye...

by ninetiesnecklace



Category: Being Human (UK), The Almighty Johnsons
Genre: Britchell Contribution Fest, Comedy, Fluff, Humour, Library Spying, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-04
Updated: 2015-08-04
Packaged: 2018-04-12 23:05:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,260
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4498104
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ninetiesnecklace/pseuds/ninetiesnecklace
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mitchell and Dawn meet every Wednesday for coffee. Not a big deal, as Anders well knows - if it wasn't for the frankly disturbing hints Mitchell gave recently.</p><p> ________<br/>Written for the second week of the Britchell Contribution Fest. This, too, turned out a lot longer and is stored here for convenience.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I Spy With My Little Eye...

**Author's Note:**

> This prompt was so much fun.
> 
> Anders and Dawn written by ConsultingFili  
> Mitchell and Ty by yours truly.

“Shh, look, there they are. They mustn't see us!” Anders stage-whispered and grabbed Ty’s arm, pulling him behind a neat bookshelf. The café part of the library was located just across from their current vantage point – perfect for Anders’ purposes.

“How are we supposed to find out anything when we hide here?” Ty asked with a frown and looked in doubt how Anders pulled out a book and peeked through the gap, “Can't we just be normal for a second and join them for a coffee? Ask what's going on?”

Anders’ fingers tightened around the paperback of a questionable purple colour as he threw Ty a panicked look.

“No, no, NO!” Anders shook his head with vehemence, “Then they'll know that we followed them. You might be a little stalky but I'm not ready for that label.”

Ty lifted one eyebrow at the jab and sighed. “What do you think will happen? I highly doubt that Dawn pulls out a white veil for Mitchell to try on.”

“Don't even joke about that!” Anders’ voice hitched a little, his eyes growing wide.

Truth be told this was what he feared. Well, maybe not an actual white veil but Ty’s words skirted a little too close to the suspicion that Anders had been fostering for a while now. Recently, Mitchell was more… attentive than usual and somewhere along the way Anders’ brain supplied him with the logical consequence: Mitchell would ask him to marry him. This moment of realisation was cut short by an immediate litany of denial and counterarguments he discussed with himself but somehow this inkling didn’t go anywhere. And now Mitchell and Dawn were meeting for coffee every Wednesday in Dawn’s lunch break – that had to mean something. Mitchell was planning something, and Anders had to know what it was, proposal or no.

It had just been a matter of chance, really, that Ty and he were spying on their partner from behind a bookshelf stacked with books on 18th century agriculture. Dawn had just been out for her lunch when Ty delivered a package for Anders. The blond took his chance – together with Ty he should be able to find out more and even though his brother had continuously muttered under his breath about how Anders was seeing things he was here now. For which Anders was thankful. Despite the unhelpful comments.

“You never know,” Anders went on, trying to make his voice sound more composed, “Dawn could have anything in her purse. And just last week Mitchell asked me if I liked him in his new suit. I don't want to tempt fate.”

Ty’s response was a low chuckle. Why exactly did he ask him to join again?

“Come on, Anders... that doesn't mean anything. A man needs a suit for all kinds of opportunities. You of all people should know. And the poor guy can't even see himself in a mirror, no wonder he asked.”

“Yeah, but it's not any guy, it's Mitchell,” Anders answered with a frown, “he doesn't like to dress up. On special occasions he doesn't even dress… And a suit, that's just not him.”

In fact, the few times Anders had seen Mitchell in a suit could be counted on the fingers of one hand – and that included the time last week.

“And why are they meeting here,” the blond went on and pointed to the floor to give his words the gravity they deserved, “and every week, Ty, what do they have in common they could talk about that much?”

Not waiting for Ty’s answer Anders peeked through the gap between the books. Mitchell had his back to him, his hair as messy as ever, and from the looks of it he was telling a very funny story. At least Dawn laughed and took a sip of her coffee, the other hand firmly placed on some sort of a binder. Oh god. A fucking binder. That was were you put in ideas and things for a wedding, wasn’t it?

“...books, maybe?” Ty interrupted his thoughts, “Or the coffee here is really good. Which we could find out if we were to join them and act like normal people.”

“Maaaybee...” Anders said slowly, clinging to Ty’s more than flimsy explanation, “but we can't join them. Maybe we can hide a little closer to hear what they are talking about. I need to know what Mitchell is planning.”

“Okay,” Ty sighed deeply and followed Anders two shelves ahead and one to the right where the blond repeated the routine: grab a book, cling to it, stare through the gap. This was a better vantage point. If he listened closely he might even understand bits and pieces of their conversation.

“But just to be clear,” Ty leaned against the shelf, “your suspicion is that Mitchell will ask you to marry him because he bought a suit. And you think he's planning everything with Dawn already? If it's any consolation she didn't say anything...”

“No it's not, Mr Freeze. And yeah, that and the fact that Mitchell asked me if I was free this summer, around the middle of November. He doesn’t even plan his dinner properly!”

Anders became a little louder with every word but now that he had someone to talk to those… occurrences about it came gushing out of him. “Why, Ty, why should he plan something half a year in advance?! Can you tell me that?”

Ty opened his mouth but before he could say a word an elderly lady looked at them from across the corridor of shelves and shook her head with a disapproving “Ssshh.”

Anders only gave her an irritated look and turned back to Ty. “Just last week he visited that little lighthouse on the hill, you know, with the nice cove next to it. He mumbled something about wanting to relax and clear his head by the sea. But with all the not so religious stuff in our life and any option of a wedding in a church cancelled… the lighthouse would be a beautiful place… you know, for a,” Anders leaned closer and whispered the last word, “wedding.”

The look on Ty’s face was surely one he considered to show concern and empathy but bloody hell, Anders knew when his brother was trying to hold back a laugh. Not that Ty was the joker to begin with but that little twitch around his mouth gave it away.

“It would be a beautiful place indeed,” Ty grinned, giving up the pretence in favour of a broad smile, “Mitchell's got great taste.”

“That's not the point!” Anders gestured wildly. Ty was enjoying this all way too much for his taste. “The point is that all these ‘happenings’ might lead to a marriage proposal from Mitchell. Ty, this can't be happening.”

Because it really couldn’t. Marriage? The very word turned Anders’ stomach. He always said he’d try anything once but that? It was not for him, couldn’t be for him. He wasn’t the type to marry. Oh fuck, just the thought of Mitchell going down on one knee, all bright eyes and hope and fucking _ask_ him…

“We have to know more,” Anders said, slightly out of breath as he tried to get a grip on his imagination running wild, “You’re great at evoking random frequent encounters. Can't you ask Dawn what they are up to? Or better, just go and ask them, I’ll wait here and you can tell me later how it went.”

A shove against Ty’s shoulder and his brother stumbled out of their hiding point.

“Anders!” he huffed, hurrying to get back behind the row of shelves again, “I’m not going over and randomly ask whether Mitchell intends to wed my brother!”

“Why not?”

“Because that's your problem and I won't be the pawn that gets sacrificed for your peace of mind.” Ty shook his head when a serious expression crawled into his eyes. That could only mean that Ty had figured something out or at least began to take the matter seriously.

“But honestly, though,” he started and Anders felt his eyes grow wider, “you might have a point.”

 _Oh no._ If Ty thought so too… “Do you think? Ohnonono. What shall we do?” Anders spoke quickly, way too quickly to be considered composed, “He even asked me for my favourite flowers last Monday. You need this for wedding plans, don't you?”

With horror Anders watched Ty nod slowly. “Yes... but... hypothetically speaking, so don't freak out - would that be such a bad thing?”

“Flowers? No, at a wedding, my wedding, yeah,” Anders nodded fast, not entirely sure whether his words made sense anymore. All of this was very confusing and Ty wasn’t exactly helping with his questions about flowers. Or their relationship? Whatever.

“Flowers? No, I mean Mitchell proposing to you,” Ty said with a frown on his face but before he had even finished his sentence Anders blurted out, “Ty, can you imagine that I’d be a good husband?”

Ty looked at him in surprise, all earlier banter and sudden seriousness forgotten. “Of course I can imagine that. With Mitchell? Definitely.”

Anders thumbed through the book he was still holding on to. “Really? Cause I can't... I have no marriage qualities at all. I might be the cause for some failed ones, but that's about it.”

“But you guys have been together a long time now and it's going well, isn't it?”

“Yeah, sure. It's actually really good and I don't want to miss him in my life.”

“And he loves you, that’s more than clear,” Ty said and smiled at him. “So why are you so freaked out? It's not like you'd change the way you are with him, would you?”

Rubbing his hand through his face Anders sighed. Of course not. A marriage would be like any kind of relationship, wouldn’t it? Not that Anders had extensive experience with those but with Mitchell things were… different. Not so scary. Maybe because Mitchell didn’t ask him to be anything he was not, didn’t want him to change in any direction… so when he had moved in with Anders it hadn’t been a big deal. Things had fallen into place so naturally. Maybe it was the same with a marriage.

“No. I don't know. Maybe. It feels final. I don't know.” Anders sighed deeply.

“Well, that's kinda the point,” Ty said, “But I'm sure you'd be a great husband. Mitchell brings out the best in you. And there are no ‘marriage qualities’ you're lacking.”

“I don't quite believe you,” Anders frowned, “On the other hand you are talking an awful lot about marriage and lovey-dovey stuff, some of this should at least be well researched.”

His attempt at humour fell a little short but made him feel better, in a way. Ty was the go-to guy when it came to questions about emotions and all that. Questions, Anders had to admit, he hadn’t allowed himself before Mitchell. Just as much as he hadn’t really allowed himself to think in relationship categories.

“What I'm saying is that you can get married if you want. It's not like you don't have the prerequisites or something,” Ty said with a sympathetic smile, “It's up to you, of course. And if you're not comfortable with that you don't have to say yes, as simple as that. Mitchell will understand, I’m sure. He won’t be out the door and never be seen again if that’s what you’re afraid of. And you won't turn into a boring suburban couple just because you're married.”

“Maybe you are right,” Anders said slowly.

Ty was making quite a few good arguments and hitting exactly the points that had bothered Anders, apparently. He hadn’t been able to put it into words before but now that Ty spelt it out for him… at the heart of the matter the whole thing was a proposal – something he could decline. Not that he would, though, necessarily. Would he? If Mitchell wanted to stay with him for… well, for a very long time it maybe wasn’t a sign that something was off. No, it meant that they were doing pretty well and to be honest, Anders couldn’t imagine waking up without Mitchell snoring softly next to him. As domestic as that sounded.

“And we will never turn into a boring suburban couple,” Anders added, breathing easier now, “We have way too much sex for that.”

In that moment, Dawn craned her neck and waved before the brother’s could hide behind the next stack of books a librarian just pushed by on a cart.

“Oh, hey, look who's there!” Dawn’s voiced sounded, “Ty, honey, what are you doing here? Come and join us!”

“So much for secrecy,” Ty shrugged and stepped out of their hiding place, “C'mon Anders, let's go and find out first hand.”

Mitchell turned around as well, his face lighting up when he noticed Anders.

"Uh-huh,” Anders murmured, shoving his hands in his slacks and followed Ty in a casual saunter.

By the time they had crossed the distance Mitchell had already jumped up and found two more chairs that he just pushed between his and Dawn’s on either side.

“Hey, darling,” Mitchell smiled and pressed a soft kiss on Anders’ lips. He tasted the same, felt the same – nothing was off as far as Anders could detect. _Good_.

“What are you guys doing here?” Mitchell asked when everyone was sitting again, squeezed in around the little wooden coffee table.

 _Shit_. Anders hadn’t exactly spent a lot of time coming up with a convincing cover story – mostly because their little spy episode was of a spontaneous nature to begin with and the plan had been to _not_ get caught. Maybe Ty had thought of that. But when Anders shot his brother a glance all he saw was an eyebrow lifted in amusement. _Dammit_.

“Mhh, we've been looking for some gods stuff research books, you know, mythology, Asgardian comics, things Ingrid can use for the Frigg-chase,” Anders answered off the top of his head, putting his hand on Mitchell’s thigh in a familiar gesture. “But what are you two up to? Dawn, don't you like that little bakery just across from our office, where they sell these awesome cupcakes? You never fail to mention that they are way better than Ty's orange-creme ones.”

He sent a slightly evil grin in Ty’s direction. That was well-deserved for putting him on the spot like that.

Mitchell glossed over their little brother moment smoothly. “That's where we normally go but I had to return some books and Dawn offered to meet here. You should try the cappuccino, Anders, you'll love it,” he pushed his own cup over to the blond, “They put chocolate powder on top and the foam is so delicious.”

“Thanks…” Anders said while he looked at Mitchell closely. His boyfriend looked as relaxed as ever when he was talking to Dawn, no sign of nervous explanation or awkward stumbling. It might be that he had misinterpreted this meeting. The folder next to Dawn also looked like one from the office – not necessarily the right format to store wedding plans in. “I didn't know that you borrowed books here. What are you reading?”

“Mitchell actually told me about that cosy little library,” Dawn chipped in, “Did you see the cute reading corner for the kids? It's really homey with all these colourful cushions.”

Ty looked over to where Dawn was pointing and immediately joined in her enthusiasm. "Yes, it's lovely!”

Mitchell winked at Anders shortly at this blatant portrayal of a happy relationship and the blond giggled quietly in return. In fact, they had already placed bets on when Ty and Dawn would become parents.

"Right now I'm reading short stories,” Mitchell said, “Hemingway.”

“Hemingway, huh?” Anders echoed, “True and honest and pure…” at least this is what he remembered from his high school days. But this was good, no talks of weddings and plans and stuff. He hadn’t been _that_ freaked out either, now that Anders thought about it.

Mitchell rolled his eyes in good humour. “Aren’t you quite the literary scholar. I was just telling Dawn about the time I met the man in Paris.”

“Wait, what?!” Anders asked in surprise, all other subjects forgotten, “You met Hemingway, are you kidding me? Why have you never told me? This is awesome!”

“Not only met him... drank and boxed with him, too,” Mitchell smiled fondly at the memory, “Don't forget, you're dating an old man,” he added with a grin in Anders’ direction.

Ty looked fairly impressed as well. "Did you win?"

The answer was an easy, charming laugh. “Rarely. He had a mean right hook... caught me off guard too many times.”

As if Mitchell could be any more interesting than he was to begin with. Anders knew a few stories from his time in Europe but that was definitely news. Awesome news. He squeezed Mitchell’s thigh lightly and grinned, enjoying the awed looks Ty and Dawn gave his boyfriend.

“Aww, you're not that old, babe, and you show that every other day,” Anders laughed, “multiple times.”

Dawn rolled her eyes in good humour, well acquainted with the over-sharing his boss so indulged in, while a faint blush crept up Mitchell’s neck. “Anders,” he mumbled and picked at his fingerless gloves, “not in public…”

"So you aren't planning anything?” Ty asked with his head tilted in inquiry, a quick look to Anders before he went on, “say, a party...?"

 _What_? Just when he found his way back from all the confusion and stupid emotional stuff from earlier Ty was getting him back into that mess? He shouldn’t have said anything about the cupcakes… Anders narrowed his eyes and threw his brother the sternest look he could muster. Luckily Dawn had taken to rummaging around in her purse so the exchange remained unnoticed.

At least by her. Mitchell, on the other hand, simply looked confused. "Just coffee and a chat... why? Did I forget a birthday?"

“No, you didn't forget anything,” Anders stared down Ty a little more to drive the point home, “Ty’s just messing with you.”

A glint in his brother’s eyes and the next sentence hit Anders like a blow to the stomach. “You know I’d be your best man in a heartbeat, Anders.”

Mitchell had just lifted the coffee cup to his lips when he froze, his eyes widening over the rim of the cup. He put it down on the saucer again without having taken a sip while Anders’ heart rate racketed up to a surely unhealthy level. _Oh no_. Ty had said it. Ty had _fucking_ said it, the little shit of a brother. Anders didn’t dare look at Mitchell. His stomach felt way too twisty already to cope with whatever reaction was playing itself out on his face. The only one not affected by Ty’s words was Dawn. Most of the contents of her purse were laid out on the coffee table and before anyone could answer to this _fucking insane_ statement she stroked along Ty’s shoulder and asked,

“Ty, honey, can you give me a lift home? I think I forgot the green folder on the kitchen table, you know the one with the dog food peoples' campaign?”

She stood up, gathering her things and nodded at Anders, “I definitely need to call them after lunch break... Sorry I have to leave you in such a hurry, Mitchell. I'll invite you for coffee next week, alright?”

“Sure, honey, let’s go,” Ty said and nodded encouragingly at Anders and Mitchell, leaving them with a very uneasy feeling – at least in Anders’ case. Ty would so have to pay for that. Mitchell just about managed a “Uh, that's alright, Dawn... I’ll see you next week,” when they waved and left the little café.

Mitchell turned in his chair, his elbow propped up on the backrest as he looked at Anders with one eyebrow lifted. "...so that was weird. Care to elaborate?"

There were about a hundred things Anders would rather do. Mitchell didn’t need to know the whys and wherefores about the past half hour of his life – especially not when he had acted fairly irrationally like he was starting to realise with every passing moment.

“No, not really,” Anders opted for a casual shrug, “Ty was just talking bullshit. I may have pissed him off with my comment about his cupcakes.”

“I'd believe you if you weren't so pale all of the sudden. And knowing Ty he doesn't joke about relationship and marriage stuff. So?” Mitchell sounded interested and not one bit freaked out, a circumstance that made this whole clusterfuck at least a little better.

Then, the Irishman creased his forehead. “Don't tell me he just ruined your proposal.”

“No, he didn't ruin my... what?” Anders looked at Mitchell, shocked at the blunt question, “I wasn't going to … propose to you. I mean not that I’d never want to marry you, cause you’re the best, well, just not here and now and I don't know maybe not at for another year or so…”

Fuck, he was rambling. And with his mouth overflowing like that it was bloody difficult to stop. But it was the truth, Anders understood in the part of his mind that still functioned like it should, his entire freak-out hadn’t been so much about marriage as such but marrying _right now_. He took a deep breath and threw Mitchell a sheepish look.

“That’s not what you wanted to hear, is it?”

A small smile played around Mitchell’s lips and he mussed up his curls – clear sign that he was trying to wrap his head around the avalanche of words Anders had all but buried him under.

“To be honest I had just planned to have coffee with Dawn...” he said, looking at Anders closely, “where does that marriage thing come from all of the sudden?”

“I know that now… but, you know, I thought you two might be planning something with all the meetings for ‘coffee’ and stuff. And you bought a suit, not a dark jeans and a blazer to go with it, but an actual suit and asked me if I liked you in it and you made plans for the summer. And the thing with my favourite flowers? All in all it just screams marriage.” Despite his initial conviction about the flawless logic Anders’ voice became quieter towards the end.

Mitchell had listened to him closely. Now, he cleared his throat with what looked like a nervous smile.

“Well, the suit is actually for the function Dawn told me about...” he said slowly, “She said she couldn't make it and asked me to go in her place. I asked about your summer plans because I figured we could use a holiday,” Mitchell shrugged with a shy smile, “and I still have a lot left to see in New Zealand. And the flowers... ever since you had this huge allergic reactions to the last ones I go you I thought I'd ask.”

“But what about the lighthouse?” Anders asked, remembering the one thing that didn’t add up so far, “did you really just want to clear your thoughts?”

Mitchell’s smile gained the hint of a sad note. “I missed George and Annie. Back home we used to pack a picnic and hang out at the pier next to the lighthouse on warm summer days. Last week sort of reminded me of it.”

“All that sounds much more logical than anything I came up with,” Anders murmured.

“It’s not that I will never propose,” now it was Mitchell’s turn to sound sheepish, “But all of those ‘preparations’ weren’t for that... are you disappointed?”

Disappointed? Anders laughed in sudden ease. “No, in no way, babe.”

“Good,” the Irishman sighed and took his hand, squeezing lightly.

“I’m really a little relieved. I mean when you ask one day I’ll totally marry you without a second thought.” Anders leaned over and kissed Mitchell softly, tasting the brunet’s quiet laugh, “But I think I’m not quite there, as this little adventure of a stalking nature has shown.”

Mitchell smiled, cupping Anders’ face. “I know, my love... there’s no rush and I don’t want you to feel pressured about this. It’s not like I’ve already selected the ring or prepared a speech. Knowing you’ll say yes takes a lot of pressure out though,” he smiled, adding in a playful tone, “So I'll have to ask one day? Pop the big question and get down on one knee?”

“You can get on your knees everyday, you know,” Anders smirked and went on softly, “but you don't have to. I love you either way, you know that, right? And when you feel positive about marrying me one day, I'm all yours.”

Mitchell smiled. “If there’s one person I’d ask it’ll be you.”

“Honest and pure... like your mate Hemingway,” Anders smiled back, kissing him again, “And _maybe_ , if you wait too long I'll ask you instead and turn you in an honourable man.”

Anders’ stomach relaxed for good at the broad smile and a nodded laugh from Mitchell.

“I’d like that.”

“But for now,” the blond said with a cheeky expression in his eyes, “I can’t wait to see you in your new suit as my handsome date for this silly function. If it gets to boring we can just slip out for a few minutes and engage in some more interesting activities.”

“Sounds like a very appealing evening,” Mitchell grinned in response and pulled Anders into a kiss.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you very much for reading :)


End file.
